Operation Claire
by Outlawqueenislife
Summary: Her adoptive son wanted his biological mother and now her biological daughter wanted her adoptive mother. How typically ironic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N So I had this idea in my head for my first OUAT fic. I have fallen in love with this show and I LOVE Regina. Let me know what ya think and sorry if the format is messed up! -Kaila**

 _Regina, I hope you get this before it's too late. I regret what I did from the start but my need for power got the best of me, as it always does. You have a daughter, with your soulmate. Don't act so surprised that I knew about Robin Hood, I always have. The truth is, you met him.. It was during your curse, he too was sent to Storybrooke. You saw his tattoo and explained what that stupid fairy had told you. It was love at first sight and before I knew it, he was proposing. I had to do something. I know you thought it was impossible for me to get you, but I did. When you discovered you were carrying a child I knew I had to take action. When your daughter was born I wiped you and Robin's memories and sent him back to the enchanted forest. You're daughter's name is Claire and I hope you will be able to find her and I hope you will reunite with Robin. I just wanted to do what I thought was best for you. Claire was adopted by a single mother living in New York named Amelia Walsh. She was born a year before you got Henry, making her 16. Losing her made you want a baby, even if you didn't know. I hope you can find her. -Your mother_  
Regina doesn't know if she should cry or scream so she settles for both, Leave it to Cora to be dead and still sending her curveball after curveball. Robin comes running in after hearing his wife. "What is it?" He asks in desperation. Wordlessly she hands him the parchment. He silently reads it. Regina continues to cry and slowly sinks to the ground.

"We….we….." Robin can't find the words either. The door to their house opens. Henry, Emma, and Snow look at them in surprise and curiosity.

"Mom?" Henry questions breaking the silence. "What happened?"

"Cora." She manages to choke out. Snow walks to the pair and gently takes the parchment from Robin who has put his arms around the trembling brunette.

"Is this even possible?" Snow asks. Regina shrugs. Not even she knew exactly what her mother's magic was capable of. Emma and Henry look at them still completely confused.

"You have a daughter."

"What?!" Emma and Henry exclaim.

"Read this." Snow demands handing the letter to them. There was no way to explain it, reading Cora's message was the only way for them to understand. How could Cora take her own daughter's child away?

"We have to find her." Robin speaks up. Regina looks up in shock.

"And tell her what?" She asks hopelessly.

"We'll think of something." Emma says softly. Henry grins.

"Operation Claire."

Later once Henry and Roland are asleep in bed. Regina comes down the stairs and joins her husband on the sofa.

"How are you not angry with me?" She asks cuddling up to him. "Cora is my mother and she took our daughter from us. We could have had this whole other life together."

"What Cora did is not your fault." Robin says facing her and cupping her face in his hands. "Don't blame yourself. Regina, I love you and I know how hurt you are. But everything is going to be okay."

"We lost so much time." Regina replies sadly.

"It all happened for a reason. We found each other again. And just think, we probably wouldn't have our sons." Robin reminds her, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "We'll get past this, we are GOING to find her and make things right," Regina nods, trying to convince herself that Robin was right. He always knew how to make her feel better. They just had to have hope. Damn it, now she owed Snow another quarter.

"Okay so there are four Claire Walsh in New York." Emma says to Robin and Regina. "I've eliminated two due to age."

"Alright." Regina replies anxiously. "So which one's our daughter."

Emma types something onto the computer and then turns the screen. Two images appear one of a blonde hair brown eyed girl and one of a raven haired girl with eyes that mirrored Regina's. There was clearly no question of it.

"That's her." Robin whispers. Emma nods, she'd thought so too.

"She lives in Manhattan, we could leave now." Emma tells the pair. Regina nods and reaches for her purse. Her and Robin had missed out on enough. Even if they had to lie about who they were for the time being they were going to see their daughter.

"Claire Adelaide Walsh." Regina smiles as she takes on last look at her daughter's photo.

The trip to New York seemed to take forever for the Robin and Regina. They'd decided it'd be best to leave Roland with Snow, Charming and Henry. The last thing they wanted was to overwhelm Claire. Emma had helped them come up with a story to tell her. Robin and Regina had been struggling with money and knew they couldn't give Claire the life she deserved. It was the hardest thing they'd ever done and they regretted doing it every single day. Hopefully Claire would have her father's understanding mind and not her mother's severe stubbornness.

"Her mother should be leaving." Emma says when the pull up to the house. "I checked her work schedule, she's a police officer and she's working nights right now." They watch as the door to the New York townhouse opens. A redhead in a cop uniform exits, searching for her keys. A dark haired girl comes up behind her smiling. Claire. She hands her the keys and says something Emma, Robin and Regina don't catch. The woman who had taken Regina's role as Claire's mother hugs the brunette goodbye. Jealousy erupts inside the former evil queen for a moment. She hadn't thought she'd feel this way but seeing Claire with a different mom was hard.

"Lock the door!" Mrs. Walsh calls. Claire rolls her eyes but in a joking manner. Robin smiles, she was like a mini Regina. He looks at his wife and sees her eyes growing wet. He takes her hand tightly. She was blaming herself still and he was determined to make this better.

"Hey, let's go meet our daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

Claire watches Amelia leave before turning to go back inside. She does as her mother says and locks the door but she didn't feel the need. Her mother was always so afraid of something bad happening to her but Claire didn't let those thoughts enter her head. Just as Claire makes her way into the kitchen there's a knock. Claire sighs assuming it's that crazy lady next door again.

"Sorry Mrs. Boyer I haven't seen your cat-" Claire stops speak after swinging open the door and seeing that it wasn't Mrs. Boyer. "Uhm….hello?"  
"Oh….my." Regina gasps with a smile. Seeing her daughter up close and in person was overwhelming. Her anger vanished when she saw what a beautiful life had been created.

"Hi." Robin smiles breaking the almost awkward silence that had started to extend over them. "My name is Robin and this is my wife….Regina."

"Okay." Claire says in annoyance. "You probably have the wrong house. I don't know a Robin or a Regina." As Claire crosses her arms Robin, once again, is surprised by how much Claire resembled her biological mother.

"It's a long story." Regina smiles. "Can we come in?" Claire looks unsure. Maybe this was why Amelia was so worried all the time. Maybe Claire had jinxed it by being so relaxed.

"We won't hurt you." Robin assures softly. For some odd reason Claire believed him. This man seemed sincere and his wife looked nice. Besides, her mom was a cop, she could handle things.

"Alright." Claire replies opening the door the rest of the way. Emma watches from her yellow slug bug parked across the street. She smiled with hope. She had faith that things would work out.

Regina and Robin follow their daughter into the living area. The room was tan colored with a red sofa and a brown love seat.

"So…" Claire says looking at the pair. "You can sit." They do. Claire looks at them expectantly from her perch on the arm of the sofa.

"Well….I guess we should just come out and say it." Robin breathes looking at his wife. "We...Uh...We…."

"We're your biological parents." Regina finishes, attempting to save her husband. Claire looks at them emotionlessly. "We are so glad to have found you."

"We hope you'll let us be a part of your life." Robin grins hopefully.

"I don't even know you." Claire points out. Regina sighs, clearly her daughter had inherited her stubbornness and bluntness.

"You can get to know us." Robin replies. "We could be a family."

"I have a family." Claire snaps. Robin snaps back in shock but Regina is unfazed. She had known this wouldn't be easy and maybe they were going about this the wrong way.

"Claire, we don't want to take you from your….from your life. We just want to be a part of it." Regina says with a warm smile.

"Look lady you aren't my mom okay? I have a mom and she's amazing." Claire snarls rising to her feet. "You should go." Regina felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. She hadn't prepared herself for _that_. The tears are starting to make their way into her eyes and she knows if they don't leave soon she'll break down.

"Alright." She whispers standing slowly.

"I'm...I'm gonna leave you a number to call." Robin says. "Just in case you change your mind." 

Regina is silent almost the whole way back to Storybook. Her adoptive son wanted his biological mother and now her biological daughter wanted her adoptive mother. How typically ironic. She couldn't win in the mom department. Did she just give off a bad vibe? She had even been a really crappy step mother. She'd tried to kill Snow for goodness sake all for not keeping a secret.

"Hey guys!" Henry exclaims when they arrive home. He doesn't see Robin giving him a warning look, silently telling him the trip hadn't gone well. "What was she like?" The barrier that Regina had put up suddenly collapses as she starts to cry. Henry and the Charmings look at her in shock.

"Regina!" Snow exclaims moving to her. "What happened."

"Claire was a bit….standoffish." Robin exclaims hugging his wife. "But she'll come around." Although it was hard to believe it, Robin was trying to keep faith. After everything they'd been through he had to believe that everything worked out when it was supposed to.

"She hated us." Regina sniffles into Robin's shirt.

"She was just surprised, love." Robin reasons.

"She'll warm up." Henry says placing a hand on his mother's shoulder. "I did." Regina cracks a smile and pulls Henry toward her.

"It'll all be okay Regina." Emma smiles.

"Yeah, our family always finds a way." Snow reminds the raven head. "And like it or not, you are most definitely part of our family."

"I suppose so." Regina teases.

"See…" Robin begins before Regina shoots him a glare. "I told you so." 

Henry went home with Emma after Regina assured him she'd be fine. He vowed he'd be over the next night. Henry was clearly feeling guilty, after all it wasn't long ago that he too wanted nothing to do with Regina. If he had the chance he'd tell Claire how amazing of a mother Regina was. Despite how much Henry loved Emma, Regina would always be his mother too and looking back he realized how lucky he was that he had her. She had been the best mom she could before him and he repaid her by calling her the evil queen and throwing Emma in her face.

Roland had woken up in the middle of the night and crept down the stairs. He sees Regina making a cup of hot cocoa and wonders why she was awake. He didn't know what was going on but he knew Regina had been sad earlier and he didn't like that.

"Why aren't you in bed?" He asks, she jumps in surprise but smiles down at him.

"I couldn't sleep, your daddy was snoring." She whispers to the adorable child. He giggles. "Want some cocoa?" He nods eagerly as she lifts him onto the counter. She makes him a cup and hands it to him, warning him to be careful of the hot liquid.

"Gina?" He asks her.

"What is it sweetie?" She questions turning and standing closer to him.

"Are you my mama now?" He asks innocently. The question shocks her but she doesn't let it show. Robin was standing outside the room, secretly observing. He knew how Roland felt about his stepmother and he had been waiting for this moment.

"Do you want me to be your mama?" Regina replies softly. Roland nods quickly.

"Henry has another mama, like I did, but he's your son. I want you to be your son too." Roland explains, melting Regina's heart. She smiles and cuddles the little boy closer to her.

"You are my son, and I'm your mama." She tells him sincerely. "I love you my little Knight."

"I love you too Mama." Roland smiles snuggling closer to her.

"Let's finish our hot chocolate before daddy wakes up and catches us." Regina whispers causing Robin to laugh, giving himself away.

"Too late." He whispers coming into the kitchen and joining their group hug. "Sorry Ro, you've gotta share Mama with me as well." Roland thinks for a moment before nodding.

"Okay daddy." He decides, going back to his cocoa. Robin hugs his wife to him. His love for her grew whenever he saw her with their children. She was such a good mother and he knew once Claire saw that she'd have a change of heart.

"I love you." Regina tells him with a soft kiss.

"And I you." Robin grins. Roland yawns and Regina giggles.

"Alright little Knight, let's get you back to bed okay?" She smiles lifting him into her arms with ease. The toddler is too tired to answer so in response he just wraps his arms around his mother's neck. Once Regina and Robin tuck Roland in, they make their way back to their own bed. Just before she falls asleep Robin whispers to her.

"Thank you for being the mother of my children."

 **A/N I felt like it needed some fluff at the end. I'm almost done with Chapter 3 so keep reading it'll be up soon! X -Kaila**


	3. Chapter 3

Claire didn't know what to do with the phone number in front of her. She had been staring at it since she got home from dance class. She couldn't help but be a little curious. On one hand Amelia WAS a pretty good mom, but on the other hand these were her blood relatives. Amelia's whole life she'd felt like an outcast. She wasn't ACTUALLY related to any of her family. She was just….different. She was always reminded of this when family reunions happened and she looked nothing like the rest of the Walsh family. But with her birth family….it was such a clear resemblance.

"Claire." Amelia says entering her daughter's room. "Hey doll, I've got to go to work."

"Okay mom, be careful." Claire replies as she skillfully slides the number under her pillow without her mother noticing.

When Amelia leaves Claire returns to her thinking. What if she called the number and they'd decided they had made a mistake? What if she wasn't what they wanted? But that was crazy. After all she'd seen the look on her birth mother's face when she'd said those cruel words. _Way to go Claire you've met her once and you've already made your mom cry._ So she made her decision. She was going to call her parents. She wanted them to be in her life. 

Regina was sitting at the table looking at some paperwork when her phone starts to ring. She debates on letting it go to voicemail, she really needed to work. But she thought better of it, it could after all be important.

"Mayor Mill." She announces into the receiver. It's silent for a beat. "Hello?"

"Uhm….h-hi." The voice stutters and despite only hearing it briefly Regina knows exactly who's on the other end. "This is Claire."

"Claire." Regina smiles as her voice absentmindedly softens. Her daughter was talking to her. She can't even find the words to say, luckily Claire starts to talk.

"I was just….uhm….I wanted to see if that offer to see you again still stands?" Her daughter asks shyly. "And I wanted to apologize for how I reacted. I'm not very good at being surprised."

"Oh it's alright, I uh, have some similar problems." Regina says as her smile grows wider. "You had every right to be shocked, I would have been too. And of course we want to see you again, we want that more than you could possibly know."

"Okay, my mom's weekend to work is this one coming up. If you could come then, that'd be great. I know a really good italian restaurant we could go to." Regina's heart is melting, something only Robin and her children could cause. "We could talk, get to know each other."

"That sounds perfect." The mayor breaths. Thinking that maybe, just maybe everyone had been right. 

Roland and Robin get home a little while later, bringing pizza with them. When Roland is distracted with his favorite food, Regina tells Robin the good news. His reaction was the same as hers had been; shock but clearly over joyed. There was just one more thing for Regina to do. After tucking Roland in Regina tells Robin she'd be back in an hour. She walks the few blocks to the Charming's and knocks until Snow opens the door.

"I….I needed to talk to you." Regina says. Snow smiles and leads her step mother into the kitchen offering her some tea.

"Is it about Henry? He's asleep." Snow asks. Regina shakes her head.

"No….I wanted to apologize." The queen replies. Snow looks at her in surprise as she hands the women a mug.

"Apologize?" Snow questions. Regina looks down at the table.

"For keeping Emma from you. I….I can't believe I did that. Now that I know what it's like….I can't believe you still talk to me. It's the worst thing I ever could have done to you." By now Regina is teary eyed. Apparently finding out she had a daughter made her prone to emotional breakdowns. Snow places her hand over Regina's, to let her know it's alright. "I am SO sorry."

"Oh Regina, it's…okay now. We've all moved past it and things happen for a reason." Snow comforts. "You are a different person now, you're the person I always believed you could be." Regina smiles through the tears in appreciation of Snow's understanding.

"I wish things had been different, I shouldn't have held that grudge over you." Regina admits. "You were just a child. I was so….cruel."

"Like I said, everything happens for a reason." Snow reminds her. "And you really have changed, Regina. I know it's been hard but look how far we've all come."

"Claire caled." Regina blurts suddenly. "She wants us to meet up with her."

"That's great!" Snow exclaims sincerely. "I told you it'd all work out."

"But what happens when she learns about all of this?" Regina asks sadly. "She's not just going to accept, I mean isn't that why we kept it from Henry during the second curse?"

"One step at a time Regina. Right now focus on the fact that your DAUGHTER wants to get to know you." Snow suggests.

"Thanks Snow, for everything." Regina smiles honestly. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"Me too." Snow replies leaning over to hug her stepmother. Regina hugs her back, for the first time in a long time. 

Claire felt bad about lying to Amelia, but Amelia was completely against Claire meeting her birth parents. She said it was a closed adoption for a reason. Claire didn't find out that she was adopted until she was thirteen. Three years ago. The news had admittedly changed Claire and Amelia's relationship. Claire hadn't even realized it until now, but after Amelia told her daughter the truth she had started her over-protectiveness. It made sense, once Claire realized it. Amelia wasn't coming up with all these rules and hovering because she worried about her daughter's safety, it was because she wanted to ensure that Claire never met her real parents.

"Hey mom, uhm I have a question." Claire says awkwardly as she sits on her mother's bed while Amelia does her hair.

"What is love?" Amelia asks.

"Since you work on Saturday, uhm, I was hoping I could go to the movies with Laura and Jenny." Claire lies easily.

"Sure, but be home by eleven okay?" Amelia replies smiling at her daughter. Claire nods. Wow, that was easier than she'd thought and she didn't even feel guilty. Not that she should, she had a right to get to know Robin and Regina. She had a right to know where she came from.

 **A/N So the next one is going to be a lot of Outlawqueen/Claire bonding! Thanks for everyone reading this, I do hope you are enjoying it :) -Kaila**


	4. Chapter 4

After Emma assuring them over and over that the boys would be fine for a few nights, Robin and Regina make their weekend voyage to New York. They were both much less nervous than the last time and, dare they say it, were excited. Claire had texted Regina the address for the restaurant, which they'd all agreed would be the best place to meet.

"Hey, we reservations under-" Regina starts to tell the host of the restaurant.

"Hood." Claire finishes approaching them. The man pulls some menus out and tells them to follow him to their tables. Once they're seated and have ordered Robin speaks in order to limit any awkward silence.

"We're really glad you called." Robin tells his daughter with a grin. Claire smiles back at him.

"I'm glad you left the number." She admits. Regina watches as her soulmate and their daughter interact. She still couldn't believe this was happening. "And I'm sorry again." She pulls Regina from her thoughts.

"You don't ever have to apologize to me." Regina tells the teen. "Does your mom know we're with you?"

"No." Claire replies looking away. Part of Regina feels guilty, knowing how betrayed she'd felt when Henry had gone after Emma. But another part of her, the more selfish part, was a little happy to know she was a special part of Claire's life, a part Amelia could never be. "I'll tell her eventually but for now I just want to get to know you."

"Tell us about yourself." Robin prompts. Regina nods encouragingly.

"Well, I'm an only child, obviously." She begins causing her parents to shift a little. They weren't sure how she'd react when they told her about their two sons. "My mother is a police officer, she works mostly nights but we spend most weekends together. What else? Oh I'm a dancer. Which is a little surprising because I have quite the tomboy attitude. When I was little I begged my mother to let me take archery lessons but instead she put me in my dance class."

"Archery?" Robin asks with a small smile. "I could teach you."

"Really?" Claire exclaims hopefully. "That'd be so cool!"

"Robin is very good with an arrow." Regina confirms smiling with pride at her husband.

"What about you guys. Tell me about you." Claire says. Neither of them really wanted to lie to her but they also couldn't tell her the complete truth. Not yet.

"Well, I'm the mayor of a small town called Storybrooke." Regina tells her discreetly.

"And I work in the sheriff's station." Robin adds. Claire shakes her head.

"No I mean, I wanna know about your relationship. Did you stay together after my adoption or did you break up?"

"Oh…." Regina answers thinking for a moment. "We uhm, we broke up for a little while but eventually we found our way back to each other." It was the truth. Claire nods, accepting the answer. The waitress comes back with their food and the eat in silence for a few minutes. Claire speaks up and asks them if they'd like to go out and get ice cream after and the pair quickly agrees, they were going to take any extra time the had with her.

Robin, Regina and Claire walk to an ice cream parlor a block away from the restaurant. Regina couldn't help but smile the whole way as she listens to her daughter tell them a story about the time she got her head stuck in a wooden fence. They enter the cold desert place and order their ice cream. Regina's surprised to learn that Claire's favorite ice cream is Chocolate Cherry, just like her's. She said it was the perfect mix of fruit (so she could pretend it was healthy) and Chocolate  
(because who doesn't love chocolate?). They're halfway through dessert when Regina's phone rings. She was going to ignore but sees it's Emma and worries about the boys.

"Hello." She answers as both Robin and Claire look at her curiously.

"Hey Regina, I'm so sorry to call but it's thundering her and Roland's afraid he said he wants Mama." Emma explains. Regina can hear her youngest son crying in the background.

"Put him on." The mayor instructs without hesitation. Emma passes the phone to the curly haired child.

"Mommy, I don't like the thunder." He cries. "I want you!"

"Roland, darling, it's going to be alright. Emma and Auntie Snow are there to protect you. And Henry too." She comforts soothingly. "We'll be home tomorrow before you have to go to sleep."

"Okay mommy." Roland sniffles.

"Why don't you ask Henry to read you a bedtime story yeah?" She says softly. Roland nods before he realizes his mother can't see him.

"Alright mommy, I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart. Get some sleep we'll be home before you know it." Regina promises. When she hangs up she can tell Claire is upset.

"You...you have a kid?" She asks sounding betrayed.

"We….have two." Regina admits.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Claire demands. Regina jumps at her daughter's angry tone.

"We didn't want to overwhelm you." Robin explains. "Henry was adopted when he was a baby and Roland is...he's from my first marriage. Our family is unique but we all love each other. Claire we still want you to be part of it."

"You adopted another baby after you gave me up!?" Claire cries looking at her mother. Regina moves instinctively to comfort her. To her surprise, Claire lets her.

"It's complicated." Regina explains holding her daughter close.

"I want to the truth." Claire says looking up at Regina. "All of it."

Robin and Regina share a look. They both know if they didn't tell her, they could lose her. But they also knew they could lose her if they DID tell her. They had just gotten her to talk to them and now she was going to think they were crazy. Who would just accept that their parents were fairytale characters? Claire had laughed at the fact that Robin's last name was Hood. Claiming his parents must have been real jokers. But they had to tell her. One thing was certain, if they lied again they WOULD lose her for good.

 **A/N two chapters in one day because I was having OUTLAW QUEEN withdrawals. In the next chapter they tell Claire about who they really are. -Kaila**


	5. Chapter 5

For a moment, Claire tries to figure out if her biological parents are actually insane. Maybe the escaped from a mental institution. Then she thought maybe they were trying to trick her. Maybe this was their way to manipulate her. But then she realized they legitimately thought that they were fairytale characters, so went back to her first theory. They were crazy.

"Claire?" Regina questions after she finishes talking. They had left out some details, they figured they should leave a little room for her to breathe and if she still talked to them she'd find out eventually.

"I want proof." The teen says crossing her arms. "You say you have "magic", well show me." Robin and Regina look at each other cautiously. Other people at the ice cream parlor had started staring.

"I can't. Not here." Regina whispers. "It doesn't work her." Claire laughs, almost tauntingly.

"Of course it doesn't." She answers shortly. "Leave it to me to end up with the crazy biological parents."

"Claire we aren't crazy." Robin insists with a sigh. They shouldn't have gotten their hopes up. Claire would have to be insane herself to believe this so quickly.

"Come with us to Storybrooke, I can prove it there." Regina pleads. Claire recoils like she's been hit.

"You want me to leave with you?!" The teen exclaims causing someone to shush her.

"I know how this all sounds!" Regina says almost tearfully. "But I promise you with my whole being that it's truth."

"I…..I…." Claire stutters trying to rationalize everything.

"Claire, please." Regina begs with a tear rolling down her face. She couldn't imagine losing Claire after spending the night getting to know her. There was still so much to learn and so much to do with her.

"Okay." Claire decides with a sigh. "Call me crazy, but okay, I'll go to Storybrooke but not tonight. I have to figure out something to tell my mom so she'll let me go." Robin and Regina sigh in relief. "Pick me up at 3:15 sharp tomorrow, I'll be waiting."

"What if she says no?" Robin asks cautiously. Claire rolls her chocolate brown eyes.

"Don't underestimate me." She tells him, sounding just like her mother. Robin chuckles.

"I would never, M'lady." He answers with a smile.

"What are you going to tell her?" Regina wonders aloud. Claire sighs, she hated lying more than just about anything, even though she was admittedly really good at it.

"My friend will cover for me, I'm going to tell her Laura is going through a bad break up." Claire explains.

Claire was nervous. What if Amelia knew she was lying? What if her plan DIDN'T work? Or, the worst, what if Robin and Regina really WERE insane and she was getting pulled into a trap? To calm herself she thought through each scenario. If Amelia caught the lie, she'd come clean and tell her everything. If her plan didn't work, they'd come up with something else. And if they were crazy….no. They weren't. Claire had to believe that. She had to be optimistic because if they weren't who they said they were she'd be crushed and she couldn't bring herself to think like that. Now that she'd spent time with them, she couldn't believe she ever doubted wanting to meet them.

"Uh….mom?" Claire says clearing her throat. Amelia turns her head from the television. "Uhm, do you think I could stay a few days at Laura's?"

"Why?" Amelia asks in a concerned voice. "Is everything okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah of course, I mean with me, but uhm, Laura and Nate broke up tonight and she's devastated. Her parents are going out tomorrow and she doesn't want to be alone. She needs me." Claire's a little surprised by how easily the lie slips between her teeth. "It'll be three, four days tops and I mean you're busy at work."

"I don't know Claire….." Amelia answers. "Can she come here?"

"Mooooooom." Claire whines in annoyance. "Come on, I'm a big girl I can handle a few nights away. Besides, you'd want her to be there for me if the roles were reversed." Amelia sighs, giving in.

"Okay, but you have to call me every night and you have to be home by Friday, absolutely NO later." Amelia tells her. Claire cheers on the inside. "Try to have fun."

Robin and Regina pull up to Claire's house at 3:00 the next day and wait patiently for their daughter to come out, praying everything had gone smoothly. They hadn't wanted to risk calling her the previous night and blowing everything. They share a smile when the door to the town house opens and Claire exits carrying her things. Robin helps her load them into the car before the pull out.

"Next stop, Storybrooke." Regina says turning and facing her daughter with a smile.

Claire had fallen asleep on the drive and when they reach the town line, Regina reaches back and gently shakes her daughter awake. Claire sits up and watches as they drive through the small town her parents live in. When they reach Regina and Robin's home Claire feels butterflies in her stomach. She was not only going to discover the truth, but she was going to meet her parent's family. The one she didn't belong in, at least not yet. Regina takes Claire's hand, sensing her nerves, and they walk into the mansion together.

"Mama!" Roland exclaims running to the mayor and jumping into her arms. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too." Regina smiles holding him on her hip with one arm. She leads Claire into the living room where the Charming's, Henry and Hook were waiting. She places Roland back to the ground carefully as Robin enters behind them. Claire suddenly feels like an intruder but Regina places an arm around her and she instantly feels better.

"Guys we want you to meet someone very important." Robin begins with a proud smile. "This is Claire, our daughter."

"Claire, honey, this Snow, her husband David, their son Neal, Emma, Killian and our sons Henry and Roland." Regina introduces. She murmurs a shy hello.

"Darling, it's a little chilly in here." Robin says throwing his wife a mischievous smile. She gets the message and pulls reluctantly away from Claire. "Shall we start a fire?" Claire watches curiously as her mother steps away. Her jaw drops when a fireball appears in Regina's hand and she tosses it into the fireplace.

"What was that?" Claire asks with wide eyes. Emma smiles.

"Magic." She answers.

"You….you were telling the truth!" Claire exclaims in shock. Regina chuckles a little before returning to Claire's side.

"I told you, I'll never lie to you again."

 **A/N So I'm not sure if the next chapter should be OQ family fluff or if it should have some drama happen but I'll post soon! -Kaila**


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Claire makes her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Henry and Regina are seated at the table, Regina smiles when she sees her daughter and ushers her over.

"Morning honey, Robin and Roland are still asleep. I think I'm going to shower before they get up." Regina tells Claire giving her a hug. "There's cereal, juice, help yourself to anything." The mayor rises, ruffling Henry's hair on her way out. Henry looks at Claire for a moment. He wanted to take the opportunity to talk to her.

"So, you're her son." Claire says before Henry can open his mouth. "She adopted you after she was made to forget me."

"She did." Henry nods, astonished at how well Claire was taking the news. "She's amazing, really, she'd do anything for someone she loves."

"I see that." Claire smiles authentically.

"Look, I'm really glad you changed your mind." Henry tells his sister. "You've made her so happy, Robin too. Mom's had a rough past but she's made some amazing changes and sacrifices. You couldn't have a better birth mother."

"I'm happier now too." Claire admits with a smile. "I used to feel like there was a piece of me missing, and I just, I never knew why. When my other mom told me I was adopted it all made sense and then when I met my biological parents….I don't feel like I'm missing anything anymore." Henry grins.

"Does this mean you're going to be around more often?" He asks her. Claire nods.

"Yeah, once I tell Amelia….which is not going to be good. She's going to freak out and she'll probably tell me I can't see Robin and Regina…..but I won't allow her to keep me from them."

Once Robin and Roland are awake and Regina is out of the shower, the Mills-Hood family decide they need a day just for fun. After all, they planned on taking Claire back to New York the following day. So they declared today Family Fun Day. They'd made plans to have a lunch picnic at the beach, then to come home and watch some old movies before meeting up with the Charmings for dinner at Granny's. It was a little chilly so Regina made the children bundle up. After she's satisfied they head out.

"It's so beautiful here." Claire thinks aloud as they set up their picnic. Regina nods in agreement. When they finish their sandwiches Robin pulls out a football. Henry and Roland rush to his side and the three of them play catch.

"Claire, come on!" Henry calls. Claire looks at Regina, she smiles and encourages her daughter to go. Claire stumbles through the sand just as Robin tosses her the ball, she catches it with ease and throws it back to Henry.

"Wow!" Robin exclaims with pride. "Did you see that?" He turns to his wife she chuckles and nods. "Nice arm you got there, Dear!"

After a few more throws Claire makes her way back to Regina. She wanted some quality time with her mother. She gets up the courage and asks Regina if she wanted to walk by the water with her. Regina grins and agrees without any hesitation. The pair make their way along the beach.

"Roland's adorable." Claire comments. Regina nods.

"It gets him out of trouble quite a bit." The former queen admits. "You had to have been an adorable baby."

"I was kind of cute, but when I hit about five I was a really awkward looking child." Claire laughs. "I had a gap between my teeth and I talked with a lisp before Amelia broke me of it."

"Robin told me he had the same problem." Regina remembers with a smile.

"I'm really glad I did this." Claire tells the mayor. "I hope you'll bring me back again."

"Oh Claire." Regina says as she stops walking so she can look at her daughter. "You can come back anytime you want."

"Thank you." Claire says tearfully. "For everything, I'm sorry I doubted you." Regina's heart warms, she pulls her daughter to her and hugs her tightly. Both feeling like they had found what they didn't know they'd been missing.

The family heads home not much later. Regina was worried they'd catch colds if they stayed out much longer. When they get home Regina makes them hot cocoa as the children pick out a movie. They settle on _The Sound Of Music._ Regina smiles as her three children huddle on the floor in front of the sofa where she and Robin were sitting. Roland makes it about forty five minutes through the movie before announcing he was bored of the singing. Regina chuckles.

"We could play a game." Claire suggests. The little boy grins at her, showing off his prominent dimples.

"We have candy land upstairs." Henry tells them. "What do you say Ro? Wanna learn how to play?"

"Yes!" Roland exclaims in excitement. Henry smiles and runs up the stairs to grab to the game. It hadn't been played in years, since Henry was Roland's age. As the set the game up, Roland sits himself in Claire's lap. She smiles as she attempts to explain to him how to play. He catches and quickly and beats both his sibling in both of the rounds they play. Regina helps them pick up the game as she realizes they're late for dinner. Henry texts Emma to inform her that they are on their way.

When the family arrives at Granny's they see that the Charmings had pushed tables together so they could all fit. Claire sits in between her parents and across from Henry. She was still a little confused about how Snow was both Regina's former step daughter and Emma's mother but she figured she'd never fully understand this whole magic thing. She was just learning to go with the flow and accept what they told her.

"So Claire, how do you like Storybrooke?" Snow asks her.

"I love it." Claire grins.

They order their food and make small chat as they wait for their dinner to arrive. The Charmings were impressed by how easily Claire fit in with them, like she'd always been a part of their family. She was clearly comfortable with all of them despite the short time they'd known her.

"When do you go back?" David asks Claire. Claire's face drops a little which Regina and Robin both notice right away.

"Tomorrow." Claire tells him.

"It was so nice getting to meet you." Snow smiles at her.

"It was awesome meeting you all too." Claire replies with a smile.

"Good thing Henry didn't scare you off." Emma teases her son with smile.

"Of course not." Claire smiles. She'd always wanted a brother or a sister and now she had two amazing little brothers who she adored immediately. Even if she had at first been jealous that Henry and Roland had gotten to spend so much time with their parents. Now that feeling was gone, she was just eager to spend as much time as possible with her family.

The next morning Regina wakes Claire and the two of them make their way downstairs where Robin is waiting. The three of them have breakfast together before Regina helps Claire finish packing her things. None of them could believe it was already time to take Claire home. As much as Claire loved Amelia, she didn't want to go back. Not after finally finding a place in the world where she felt like she belonged.

"Okay, I think that's it." Regina sighs taking a final look around the guest room, which was now Claire's room. She looks up to see tears falling down her daughter's cheeks. "Claire, honey, what is it?"

"I-I don't want to leave." Claire cries. Regina moves to comfort the teen, holding her closely. "I-I want to stay here."

"Oh baby." Regina whispers stroking Claire's long dark hair. She didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to tell Claire she could stay and never leave. But she knew that wasn't an answer. What if Henry had gone to live with Emma without ever talking to Regina about it? No she couldn't do that. "We'll figure something out, I promise, but we have to at least talk to Amelia."

"Okay." Claire sniffles pulling back a little. "I just...I love it here and I love you all so much."

"We love you too, Claire. I wish things were less complicated." Regina says. Robin steps into the room and looks sadly at his crying daughter and clearly upset wife.

"Aw come on ladies, let's not cry. Everything will be fine." He says trying to remain optimistic despite his own sadness. "Claire will be back with us before we know it." He walks over and embraces his two favorite girls. None of them could have ever imagined just how much this would hurt, even if was only temporary.

 **A/N there's your fluff with a little sadness at the end. I think the next chapter Claire is going to tell Amelia about Robin and Regina. -Kaila**


	7. Chapter 7

The ride back to New York was surprisingly quiet. They were all deep in their thoughts, All of them wonder when they'd be able to do this again and what would happen when Amelia found out the truth. Robin had tried to keep his daughter and wife optimistic but in reality he was more than worried. Amelia had every right to forbid them from seeing Claire again. It would be so wrong...anytime something went right for them...something always happened to make things bad again. There was the whole Zelena thing, she had faked a pregnancy in an attempt to keep Robin in Regina apart. So much had happened and now things were looking up….they were just waiting for it to crumble.

"Will you come in with me?" Claire asks suddenly when they pull up. "I've been thinking, the whole way here. I can't just come back here and pretend like everything's okay. I don't belong here, not now, not ever. Some twisted fate put me here and I just wanna move forward. Amelia...she WAS a good mom, but she's not you."

"What are you saying?" Regina asks hopefully.

"I'm saying….I'm coming home with you." Claire tells them. Robin puts an arm around his daughter.

"Of course we'll come with you. But Claire, she is legally your mother…." Robin reasons. Claire looks at Regina.

"Forgetting potion." Claire whispers. "We….we could make her forget, couldn't we?"

"Claire, honey, we can't do that." Regina says softly. "But what we can do is make a compromise with her. We WILL figure something out."

"Okay." Claire replies with a nod. "Let's do this."

The three of them make their way up the stairs and into the townhouse. Claire hears the shower running. If she hurried she could just disappear without Amelia knowing, but one look at her parents she knew that wasn't an option. Claire knocks on the bathroom door and let's Amelia know that she's home and needed to talk. Amelia had called back that she'd be five minutes. Claire and her parents sit in the living room, all nervous. When Amelia enters, she eyes Robin and Regina, then looks at Claire waiting for an explanation.

"Mom, these are Robin and Regina….they're my biological parents." Claire explains. "I'm sorry I lied to you."

"What!?" Amelia exclaims. "No….the deal was they;d never be able to find you. Cora…..she promised that if…..if I adopted you….they'd never find you. She said they'd never even know!"

"Wait….Cora?" Claire asks in shock. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew! How else would a single mother who at the time was only making minimum wage, be able to adopt a newborn?" Amelia snaps. "I want you magical freaks out of here!"

"NO!" Claire exclaims. "You can't send them away from me!"

"Claire...they are dangerous….that women….Cora, she had these powers and her daughter inherited them!" Amelia exclaims pulling Claire away from Regina.

"I could have them to!" Claire snaps breaking out Amelia's embrace.

"No, Cora….she promised." Amelia gasps in horror.

"My mother wasn't the most truthful women." Regina steps in placing an arm around Claire. "In fact it'd be strange if Claire DIDN'T have magic. She's not only my daughter….but she's the product of true love."

"Claire I want you to stay away from this women." Amelia demands. Claire grits her teeth.

"This women is my mother!" Claire all but screams.

"I'm your mother!" Amelia cries. "Even if this isn't what I signed up for. I am your mother."

"We can make arrangements, we can share her." Robin offers the red head. "But we want to be her parents too."

"No. If Claire wants to be around such strange people like you….I want no part of it. Claire you have to chose. Me or them." Amelia says snapping back to reality. She looks at Claire expectantly. "C'mon Claire, it can't be that hard. Tell these freaks to get lost."

"I'm sorry." The teen whispers. "But….I chose them."

Claire made her way upstairs to retrieve the rest of her belongings. Amelia had left right after Claire had chosen Robin and Regina. Claire was still in shock that Amelia had know this whole time. Not only did she know who her biological parents were, but she knew about MAGIC! And to make matters worse…..she saw magic as a bad thing. Admittedly Claire had had her doubts in the beginning and Regina HAD told her magic could be dangerous, but that didn't mean it was bad. Claire was both relieved and pissed off by the whole thing. At least now she could be with her real family but at the same time she couldn't believe what Amelia had said and that she'd been lie to her whole life. If anything, however, Amelia's harsh words only made Claire more certain that she was doing the right thing.

"Hey." Robin says from the doorway. "Did you get all your stuff?" Claire nods.

"Is Regina okay?" Claire asks him. Regina had looked so broken after Amelia told them the truth.

"Cora's a rough subject for her." Robin explains. "As is her magic, but she's alright."

"I'm sorry, for what Amelia said." Claire apologizes. Robin smiles and brings his daughter in for a hug.

"It isn't your fault Claire. I know how hard this is but your mother and I are so proud of you." Robin tells his daughter softly. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." Claire smiles halfheartedly. "It's just a lot to take in."

"We're here for you, for whatever you need." Robin tells her firmly but warmly. Claire nods.

"We should probably get moving." Claire sighs. "Amelia won't stay gone much longer." Robin nods in agreement. He pulls away from Claire and helps her carry her things down stairs and to the car where Regina is waiting. Once everything is loaded in the car Claire hugs both her parents, silently letting them know how thankful she was.

"Ready?" Robin asks the girls. Regina nods and the pair look to Claire.

"More than ever." Claire says with certainty and a smile. "Let's go home.

" **A/N Sorry for any errors, I didn't read through before posting! In the next chapter Claire will learn whether or not she is capable of magic. -Kaila**


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a little over a week since Claire had moved to Storybrooke. She had no problems adjusting but it was clear to everyone that something was off with Henry. He'd kept his distance and when he was around he remained quiet.

"Okay, what's up?" Claire finally asks as the two of them sit watching some show on the TV.

"Nothing." Henry lies. Claire raises an eyebrow and Henry knows from experience with Regina that he's not getting away so easily.

"You can tell me." Claire replies. "We're siblings now, isn't our jobs to keep each other's secrets?"

"Fine, but if you say anything to anyone…..I'll…..I don't know but I'll do something." Henry replies. Claire pretends to cross her heart. "I have a girlfriend, well sort of, and I haven't told anyone."

"What!?" Claire exclaims in shock. "Why haven't you told Regina."

"Well A, she'd flip out and go all over protective mother and B, she's been a little preoccupied." Henry snaps. Claire flinches with guilt. "Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound so rude."

"No...it's fine." Claire answers quietly. "She had been spending a lot of time with me. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"No, Claire, I have no right to be jealous, you guys JUST found each other." Henry argues. "I just, now I know how she felt when I found Emma."

The two are silent for a few minutes. There wasn't anything Claire could say to make him feel better because the truth was, she wasn't sorry. Even if she did feel guilty, she didn't feel sorry. And Henry felt like a spoiled brat for being jealous of his sister.

"Hey, Claire, I AM glad you're here." Henry says after a moment. "It's cool, having a sister."

"Yeah, it's cool having two little brothers too. It's just going to take some time for all of us to get used to it." Claire says with a smile. Henry nods before the turn their attention back to the TV screen.

Roland on the other hand had no trouble sharing his parents with Claire. He was marveled by his new sister and he was always following her around. Not that Claire minded the least bit. It was not feeling so alone. And besides, Roland really was too adorable for words. Claire would have been able to say no to his dimpled smile even she'd wanted too.

"Clairey, I want a piggy back ride!" Roland exclaims to her. She laughs.

"Okay Rolly Polly." She says using the nickname she'd created for her. She helps him onto to her back as Regina cringes.

"Be careful you two!" She warns. Robin laughs at her.

"Don't worry, we will." The two reply in unison. Henry walks in, suddenly feeling like an intruder. He was the only one not actually related to them. Regina, Robin, Roland and Claire looked like the perfect nuclear family. He was an outsider. If he hadn't pushed his mother away maybe he'd feel different.

"Hey honey." Regina calls with a grin upon seeing her oldest son standing there. "I didn't know you were coming over tonight."  
"I told you yesterday." Henry snaps. Regina looks up in shock.

"Henry Daniel Mills, you will not speak to me in that tone." Regina answers firmly. Roland slides of Claire's back and hides behind her legs. He didn't like it when anyone fought, especially with Mama.

"Fine. I'll go back to Emma's." Henry grumbles. "At least I'm not such an outcast there."

"Henry what on earth are you talking about?" Regina demands rising to approach her son. He turns away from her.

"I feel like I don't belong here anymore." He says.

"Henry." Robin butts in gently from his place on the sofa. "Of course you do."

Henry sighs, they didn't see it from his perspective. They were all biologically related to someone in this room somehow, except him. Even Roland was more connected to Claire then he was. Robin and Regina could have the perfect family, without him.

"I should just go." Henry says backing up. He doesn't notice the toy dump truck Roland had left on the floor and he slides on the plastic toy, nearly hitting the stairs before a cloud of purple smoke stops him. He sighs in relief.

"Thanks." Henry says turning to face his mother with a smile. "That could have been bad."

"Th-that wasn't me." Regina stammers. "It-it was Claire." Claire feels like a fish in glass bowl as everyone turns to look at her. She'd never done anything like that before but her instincts took over when she saw her brother falling.

"I-I don't….it….it just happened." Claire manages to get out in shock. Henry smiles at her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, Claire. You probably saved me a trip to see Dr. Whale." He assured her. Robin stands and places an arm around his shaking daughter. So Regina had been right when she'd talk to Amelia, Claire HAD inherited her mother's magical abilities. Claire looks to Regina, terrified.

"Claire, it's okay, I'll help you learn to control." Regina says looking at her daughter who'd grown tearful. Henry looks at Regina and nods, silently telling her he was okay and that she needed to go comfort Claire. Regina takes the hint and smiles at him in a wordless thank you. She crosses the room and takes Claire in her arms. "Are you alright?" Regina remembered when she first started using her magic that it not only wore her out, but also left her feeling empty. Almost sad, even.

"I think so." Claire says quietly. Suddenly she looks behind her. "Roland?" The curly haired little boy grin tooth fully up at his sister and mother.

"That was so cool!" He exclaims. "Can you do it again Clairey?" Regina and Robin chuckle. Robin motion for Henry to come join them and he does. As Henry gets closer Roland reaches up, begging his big brother to pick him up. Henry grins and lifts Roland off the ground. Regina has one arm around hair and places the other around her two sons. Robin wraps his arms around his family and they all feel like they're home. Henry realized he was wrong, while they may all be related, he still belong with them. Even if he was still a little jealous, he'd had Regina to himself for nearly his whole life. But Claire and Roland and Robin, they were her family now too. His mother clearly had enough love for all of them.

"I love our family." Robin speaks up after a moment.

"So do I." Regina smiles kissing the top of Henry's head before doing to the same to Claire. "Each and every one of you. Even if we fight." She throws a pointed look at Henry.

"Sorry." He replies sheepishly. "I guess I was a tad jealous."

"You don't need to be." Regina assures him. "I love you all equally." Claire smiles at her mother's words. It was the first time Claire felt like she had a real family. And she loved them all equally too.

 **A/N so Emma and Regina are going to help Claire with her magic in chapter 9! Also someone wanted a little jealous Henry so here ya go. -Kaila**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N 1: So I forgot to mention but the whole Dark Emma thing doesn't exist here, just because I want to focus on the main purpose of this story. Also there was a suggestion for a Snow/Claire moment so I put a bit in here, there will be more later I promise! -Kaila**

The decision to include Emma in Claire's magic training was easy for Regina to make. Emma and the former evil queen may have had their problems at first but they had actually became quite good friends and Regina trusted her. Magic was still a touchy subject for Regina, after years of using it for evil she was afraid to embrace it. The last thing she wanted was for something to happen while she was with Claire and she knew if Emma was there then she could help.

"Don't worry Regina, I've seen you use light magic, nothing will go wrong." The savior tried to assure her. But Regina wanted to be better safe than sorry. Especially when it came to her daughter's safety. So the three of them make their way to the swaying bridge, the one Emma had saved herself on when training with Regina. Regina was hesitant about taking Claire here, it was dangerous, but when she heard Emma's plans she quickly agreed. Claire's magic happened out of instinct, when she was saving Henry. For now, that's how they'd get her to use it.

"I'm going on that?" Claire asks as she uncertainly looks at the bridge.

"Not you." Regina says softly. "Me." Claire looks at her mother worriedly.

"It doesn't look stable." Claire replies.

"It'll be fine." Regina says with a smile."I'm just going to walk across it."

The mayor gives Emma a pointed look, the blonde recieves the message and nods discreetly. The mayor takes a deep breath and steps foot and the rickety wooden bridge. It was a little silly for her to be nervous, after all if their plan failed she had her magic and so did Emma. But Regina wasn't a fan of heights, of all things. It was stupid because she had been the evil queen for goodness sakes, but she hated being high up of the ground. When Regina hits the middle of the bridge, the board breaks, just like they'd planned. It sends Regina down but her instincts kick in and she grabs the rope.

"No!" Claire screams, her hand flying out sending a cloud of purple to her mother. They watch as Regina is safely brought back to them. It was a lot like Emma had done, instead of fixing the rope, Claire had made Regina levitate and floated her to them. Emma looks both impressed and amused. Regina smiles with pride, despite how terrified Claire looks.

"You did it!" Emma exclaims. "That was amazing!"

"Why did you do that!?" Claire demands looking at her mother with anger prominently displayed in her eyes.

"Claire." Regina says softly stepping closer to her eyes. "It's alright, you did it."

"No it's not!" Claire exclaims tearfully. "You can't do that again!" Regina's heart stops for a moment, realizing she's caused her daughter's fear. Claire didn't understand yet, that Regina would have been okay even if Claire hadn't been able to stop her from falling. All she knew was that her mother had voluntarily put herself in danger. Regina takes her daughter into her arms and comfort her.

"Claire honey I'm sorry, I didn't think it'd be this upsetting for you." Regina explains stroking her daughter's hair. "I promise, we'll figure something else out."

"I just got you back." Claire murmurs into her mother's shirt. Regina sighs and squeezes her daughter tightly.

"Why don't we call it good for today." Emma suggests. Regina nods, silently agreeing.

That night, Regina and Robin had parent teacher conferences so Claire was going over to Snow's for a little while. She was still a little mad at her mother for the stunt she'd pulled earlier but she knew it was stupid. Regina's magic was much more powerful than Claire's and there was no way she'd have fallen, but it was still in Claire's head. Watching her mother fall to her death.

"Are you okay?" Snow asks Claire as she slides her a cup of cocoa. "Emma said you did really well earlier."

"Does she always do that?" Claire asks her step sister suddenly. "I mean does she always risk her life like that!?" Snow chuckles, thinking about all the times Regina had almost died for one of them.

"Emma may be the savior," Snow begins. "But Regina is like the protector." Claire sighs.

"Great." The teen says sarcastically. Snow places her hand over Claire's.

"There's no need to worry, Regina's tougher than anyone I have ever known." The princess says softly. "She saved my life once."

"I thought she was always attempting to kill you." Claire replies raising an eyebrow. The signature Regina look that she'd so obviously passed onto her daughter. Snow laughs.

"This was before. The first time I met Regina I was riding a horse. Or rather attempting to ride a horse. The horse was spooked and took off, I thought I was going to die. But then this beautiful stranger swept in and pull me from the horse." Snow explains with a soft smile, remembering how she'd looked at Regina that day with such awe. Claire smiles. That sounded like Regina. Then she grows serious.

"She seemed like such an amazing person, before she turned evil." Claire says. "Did you forgive her? I mean completely for everything she did?" Snow looks at the teenager, realizing that Claire was doubting her mother.

"I did." Snow answers truthfully. "Regina is making up for her past better than any of us could imagine. Her past is her past and if we hold it against her it'd be unfair. She's come too far for that. Your mother….she's my hero." Claire smiles again, all doubt gone after hearing Snow's adoring words. If Snow White could look at the once evil queen like a mother once again, maybe anything was possible.

"I'm glad I came here tonight." Claire tells Snow.

"Me too." Snow smiles. "You're very lucky, Claire. To have Regina as your mother." Claire nods.

"I know." Claire answers truthfully with a soft smile. "It's crazy, but I actually feel normal for once in my life." Snow chuckles in understanding. Just as the door opens, Regina and Emma enter. Robin had taken the boys home so Regina could pick Claire up.

"How were conferences?" Snow asks the two moms.

"Good." Regina answers. Emma nods. "How were things here." Claire and Snow share a smile.

"Good." They say in unison.

Once Claire and Regina get home, Roland is already in bed. Robin suggests they put a movie in. Henry and Claire decide on a horror movie, despite Regina's hesitation. After much pleading from her children she agrees. Henry and Claire lie on the floor on their bellies facing the television in front of the sofa their parents are sitting on. During a particularly gory and terrifying scene Claire jumps up from the floor and ends up squeezing between her parents on the sofa.

"I told you so!" Regina laughs as her daughter hides her face in her father's arm. "Henry...how are you doing?" The boy looks up, unconvincingly.

"Fine." He lies. "But maybe I should sit with you….just in case you get frightened." Regina tosses her head back in laughter and opens her arms for Henry to join her.

"Come on….it's not that scary." Robin says in amusement. "You were the ones who picked the movie."

"I changed my mind!" Claire exclaims, still refusing to look at the screen.

"Me too!" Henry agrees. Robin reaches over and clicks off the TV. Claire sits up and her and Henry share a look.

"Next time, let's stick to Disney." Claire suggests. Henry nods quickly. Robin and Regina chuckle and at their children. Both happier than they had ever been, they had everything they could want.

 **A/N 2: The next one will have Claire/Robin bonding and some OQ fluff :) -Kaila**


	10. Chapter 10

Robin and Regina had thought it'd be a good idea for Claire to spend some time with her father. After all she'd grown up without a dad in her life until now. And besides, Robin had promised he'd teach her to shoot an arrow. He promised his wife he'd be careful and then he told his daughter. she was beyond excited and Robin knew she'd be a natural. It was in her blood, just like magic. Claire and Robin hike back to the woods and meet up with the merry men. After a quick lunch they continue on to where Robin had set up targets and where he'd left his bow. He was tempted to show her the arrow that never missed but he decided that was for another day.

"Okay, you ready?" Robin asks handing his daughter a bow. She nods eagerly and he chuckles. "Alright, the secret to hitting your target is your stance." He tells her. He takes his own bow and aims, hitting the middle perfectly. Claire watches in awe.

"Wow." She whispers. "Impressive." He smiles.

"Lots and lots of practice." He replies. "Okay, feet shoulder width apart." He comes behind her and helps her angle the bow, getting the perfect set up. "Okay, pull back, release when you feel ready." Once she feels it Claire lets go, closing her eyes. Robin watches as his daughter hits her first bullseye. He laughs in both admiration and shock.

"Did I hit it?" Claire asks with her eyes still tightly closed.

"Look." Robin encourages. She opens her eyes and gasps.

"I did that!?" She asks, disbelieving. Robin nods.

"You did." He confirms proudly. "Are you sure you didn't use magic?" Claire laughs at her father's teasing.

"Can we do it again?" She practically begs. She pouts her lips in the most Regina way possible and Robin couldn't ever say no to that face, no matter which one of them made it.

"Absolutely my dear." He grins. A few hours later the two reluctantly leave the woods, both knowing how angry Regina would if they were late for dinner. Robin promises Claire he'd take her back soon and she was glad. She'd had a lot of fun with her dad. It was nice having a father, she'd always wondered what it was like. And she couldn't have imagined a better dad than Robin. She'd definitely hit the jackpot in the bio-parent department.

When they get home Regina is finishing dinner in the kitchen, Roland is watching cartoons and Henry had gone to spend the weekend at the Charming's. "We're home!" Robin calls entering the kitchen with Claire trailing behind him. Regina smiles at them.

"How was it?" She asks. Robin turns and beams at his daughter with pride.

"She's definitely an archer." He replies. "I'm gonna go clean up for supper." Robin says pressing a kiss to his wife's temple before heading up the stairs. Claire moves and sits at the counter across from her mother. Regina wrinkles her nose and smiles.

"What?" Claire asks curiously. Regina chuckles, looking up at her daughter.

"You smell like forest." She grins, though a few years ago she never would have admitted it, she loved the scent. To her, it smelt like home.

Once the children were in bed, Robin and Regina curl up with a glass of red wine in front of the fireplace. Memories of their first official date swarmed in Regina's head as she thought back to that night. The night she'd told him about him being her soulmate. Even then she wouldn't have ever guessed they'd be here, but she was so glad they were.

"You're still stunning in every way." Robin says admiring his wife's beauty. She chuckles, still insecure about it, though she had no reason to be.

"Why are you sucking up?" Regina teases back. Robin places a hand on her cheek.

"I'm not." He replies truthfully. "I just love you so much." He leans in and presses his lips to hers.

"I love you too." she smiles against his lips. "The first time we did this I told you my heart was stronger than ever, but now…..now it's at it's max," Robin smiles, glad she was so happy. They deserved to be happy after everything Fate had thrown at them. They had gotten through so much and they were both unbelievably surprised that they had actually found their happy endings, and together no less.

"I may be the thief," Robin whispers in Regina's ear, sending shivers down her spine. "But you, my love, stole my heart." Regina smiles and pulls back.

"You can't steal something that's been given to you." She smirks, repeating the words he'd said to her years ago. He leans in and captures her lips in his again. Even after all this time, they couldn't get enough of each other.

Claire wakes up and is surprised to see that Regina is the only one home and even more surprised to see that she'd slept until 11:30. Regina smiles she sees her daughter enter the living room and smiles even bigger when Claire comes and cuddles beside her on the sofa.

"Hey sleepyhead." Regina smiles hugging her daughter close.

"Morning." Claire yawns. "Where's everyone else?"

"Robin and Roland were going to see the merry men, they were going to wake you but I told them to let you sleep." Regina explains. Claire sends her a thankful grin. "Do you want some breakfast? I could whip you something up."

"Maybe in a few minutes." Claire replies. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." Regina says as Claire sits up to look up at her.

"If you'd known about me sooner, would you have come to find me? Even before you remet Robin?" Claire asks.

"Of course." Regina assures Claire. "Nothing would have kept me from coming after you."

"I'm sorry I didn't start looking for you when I found out I was adopted." Claire says looking down. Regina's heart breaks a little as she pulls her daughter back into her arms, needing to feel close to her.

"Oh my baby, sometimes it's all about timing." Regina tells her, using Robin's wise words since she can't find any of her own at the moment. She plants a kiss on the top of Claire's head. Breathing in her scent and trying to berid the guilt she feels. Once again she feels like it's her fault that Claire had been taken from them. It was Cora who had done this. Her mother. But then Claire says four words that make her heart stop.

"I love you, mom." That extra word. That one title. Tears fill the mayor's eyes as she replies.

"I love you too, Claire." She whispers just loud enough for Claire to hear. Claire hugs her mother tightly. "So much."

 **A/N I need to know...should Regina and Robin have a baby or should it just be the 5 of them? Also I REALLY enjoy writing Regina/Claire fluff and I'd really love to see Regina with a daughter on the show! -Kaila**


	11. Chapter 11

Everything had being going so perfectly. Regina knew, deep down, that it was too good to be true. She had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, she'd just hoped it wouldn't happen so soon. But then, the day came. The day she showed Claire the vault.

"So, this is it." Regina smiles as Claire follows her in. "My lair." Claire smiles as she looks around. "Feel free to explore, I just need to grab a few things." Claire takes her mother's advice and begins looking around. She looks at the many bottles and cases scattered throughout the cement room. She'd heard of this kind of magic from her mother but seeing it in person fascinated her. Claire continues rummaging through the room when she comes across a chest. Inside was Regina's Diary. Claire debates opening it, it looks so old. But Regina had told her to feel free so she opens the old book and skims the pages, smiling as she reads about her mother's adventures with Daniel. Towards the middle, Regina talks of her horrific marriage, but that wasn't what caught Claire's attention. At the end of the book was a long parchment paper, full of names and dates. Claire frowns wondering what this could possibly be.

"Alright dear, I'm ready- Claire….where did you find that?" Regina asks dropping the spell book she'd been holding. Claire holds the diary up causing her mother to gasp.

"What is it?" Claire asks, though she had a guess and it made her stomach turn. "Mom?"

"It's….it's my….my list of the people I murdered." Regina says, whispering tearfully. She'd put that somewhere she didn't think anyone would find it. She honestly wasn't't even sure why she still had it. Maybe to remind her of how easily she could revert to her old ways or maybe for some twisted sympathy….either way, she definitely didn't want Claire to find it.

"Th-there's hundreds of names on this." Claire stutters in shock, backing away when her mother gets closer to her. "No….stay away from me."

"Claire, please, don't do this. That's who I was, not who I am." Regina pleads, nearly sobbing now. But Claire was too upset herself to see the sincerity in her mother's eyes. She shakes her head.

"You're a monster." Claire whispers, bolting for the door. Regina doesn't stop her. She watches as her daughter escapes, terrified of her. Just like Henry had done. She should have been more prepared for this, but she'd let herself believe that Claire understood. But that was crazy. Her daughter was right….no matter how much she'd changed part of her would always be that monster who took innocent lives and who crushed hearts just because she could. How could she expect Claire to forgive her when she hadn't forgiven herself?

Regina enters her house expecting Claire to be there. But she wasn't. Robin and Roland were, but there was no sign of her daughter. The worry hits like a tsunami. Where would Claire have gone? Was she okay? Robin offers to look in the forest while Regina looks around town. If she was still in Storybrooke that was.

Snow had just put Neal down for a nap when there's a knock on the door. She hurries to answer it and is surprised to see Claire. She could see the tear marks still evident on the young girls face and ushers her in. Snow wonders why Claire was here and not with her mother or father, if she was this upset. Then she realized that's WHY she wasn't with them.

"I-I….she….." The teen sobs incoherently. Snow hugs the girl close to her.

"Regina?" Snow asks gently. Claire nods against Snow's shoulder. "What happened, Claire?" The last Snow had heard was that everything had been perfect. She'd never seen her stepmother so happy….so what had happened in the short time since Snow had seen Regina?

"We went to her vault." Claire sniffles ones she's calm enough to talk. Snow pulls back so she can look at Claire better. "She…..killed…..SO many people." Snow sighs. It had to have been hard for Claire to realize this, even if she knew her mother had been the evil queen.

"Claire….what did you see?" Snow asks, looking for an explanation as to why Claire was suddenly so afraid and upset with her mother.

"It was a list…..a REALLY long list of all the lives she took." Claire explains shaking her head as if she's trying to shake the image from her head.

"I see." Snow replies softly. "Claire, do you know why she had that list?" Claire shakes her head again. "She has it because your mother has a heart. She may not even realize it herself but she keeps that list to remember what she did. It's like her own form of punishment. I know how scary this is, but Claire, Regina loves you SO much and she would NEVER hurt you."

"She tried to kill you!" Claire exclaims, suddenly feeling very confused by everything that had happened.

"Heart break can cause a person to do unspeakable things….but Regina really has changed. Please Claire, you can't give up on her." Snow pleads. Her own heart was breaking, thinking of how her step mother must be feeling. Claire snaps back to reality and gasps.

"I-I called her a monster!" Claire realizes growing tearful again. "She's never going to forgive me."

"Of course she will." Snow says reassuringly. "Why don't we get you home?" But before Snow even gets it out of her mouth there's another. Snow didn;t have to answer the door to know it was Regina. Claire nods, telling Snow she was ready to see her mother. Snow gives the teen a small smile before rising and opening the door, revealing a frazzled mayor.

"She's here." Snow confirms before Regina can even asks. She watches as relief washes over the Queen's face. "Come in."

"No….she….she doesn't want to see me." Regina replies stepping back. "I just needed to know she was okay."

"Mom?" Claire's voice comes from behind Snow. The princess moves out of the way as Claire throws herself into her mother's arm and begins to cry again. "I'm sorry!"

"What did I tell you?" Regina asks pulling aways so she can cup her daughter's face in her hands. "You don't ever have to apologize to me, Claire." She pulls her daughter back to her. She rubs her daughter's back and sends Snow a thankful smile. Whatever her stepdaughter had said to her daughter it had worked. "Honey do you wanna go home?" Claire nods. Regina plants a kiss on the top of her daughter's head. "Go wait in the car, I'll be right down." Claire nods and leaves her mother with Snow. Once Claire's out of earshot Regina, shockingly, pulls Snow into a hug.

"Thank you so much." Regina breaths. Snow squeezes Regina tightly. "For whatever it was you did. I can't thank you enough."

"Anytime." She smiles. Regina lets go of Snow and goes to take her daughter home. They had a lot left to talk about, but at least she had the chance to now. She never would have guess, when she cast the curse, that she'd be thanking Snow so much. But they were family and Regina, now gladly, would admit that she had always cared for the girl. And now she had two daughters who she loved.

 **A/N I was re watching old Snow/Regina scenes and I really hope that season 5 shows more of their relationship! They've come so far now and I love their friendship/mother-daughter connection. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! -Kaila**


	12. Chapter 12

Lily had been determined since stepping foot in this town to get her revenge. Her mother, Maleficent, had been insistent that harming the Charmings was not the way to go. Not now that they'd been reunited. But Lily had spent her whole life not having her mother's guidance and she didn't believe she needed it now. But, she also knew killing the Charmings wouldn't make them suffer, in fact it'd be easy on them. Her first thought was to kidnap Henry but that would be too obvious. So she decided that Snow's newly found little sister would pay the price for her wrong doing.

"Are you Claire?" Lily asks approaching the girl who had been walking home from Granny's alone. She'd just met up with Henry and Emma for lunch and was heading to see her father for an archery lesson. Claire nods at the young brunette, wondering what she could want.

"I am." Claire confirms tilting her head slightly. "Who are you?"

"My mother and your mother are friends, I'm supposed to meet you and take you to see her." Lily lies. Claire sees through it, but keeps calm. "I'm Lily."

"Well, that's nice of you, but my mother must have forgotten. My dad is picking me up any moment." Claire explains, throwing in a completely fake smile. Lily's fake friendliness evaporates as she takes a step toward the younger girl.

"We both know, that's not true. He's not expecting you for another twenty minutes." Claire's instincts kick in and she sends a blow of magic at the women in front of her. It hits Lily, stunning her long enough for Claire to scream at the top of her lungs, praying for someone to hear her. Lily screams in anger as she starts to transform. Claire watches in horror as the women took form as a dragon. This was it, Claire thought, she was going to die at the hands of some beast. She closes her eyes and waits. But then someone grabs onto her, tightly.

"Lily no!" Claire looks to see Emma with her hands up and a protective bubble surrounding them. "You're better than this." Regina had said those words to Emma not long blonde was hoping with all her might that it'd work on her childhood friend.

"I don't understand!" Claire cries, gripping Emma with all she has. "What does she want with me?"

"Revenge." Emma answers as a purple cloud of smoke appears. Claire sighs in relief upon seeing her mother. She trusted Emma, and she was ever going to be thankful that she'd gotten there in time, but Regina always made Claire feel safe.

"Get away from my daughter you Lizard!" Regina screams throwing a fireball at the monster, showing no fear. Lily flaps her wings and takes off. She probably knew she was no match for Emma, Regina and Claire's magic. Emma lets go of Claire and let's down the wall. Claire flings herself at Regina, still shaking from what had happened.

"Are you okay?" Emma asks Claire softly. Claire nods as she cries. Regina meets the savior's eyes. For once she was thankful for the title that Emma held.

"Thank you." The former queen says. Emma nods, just glad she's heard Claire yell.

They'd found Lily later that night, and despite Maleficent's pleading, they put her in custody, using a magic cuff so she'd stay in human form. Snow and Charming had apologized profusely to the Mills-Hood family, knowing if it hadn't been for them it never would have happened. A few years ago Regina would have used this against them, but she really had changed. She assured them that it wasn't their fault and she was just thankful that Emma had been their to save Claire. As long as her family was safe, Regina was happy.

"Hey." Regina says from the doorway of Claire's room. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Claire smiles as her mother crosses the room and sits beside her on the bed. "Is she really locked away?"

"She is." Regina assures placing a hand over Claire's. "She can't hurt you anymore Claire."

"I thought she was going to kill me." Claire admits in a whisper. Regina sighs, knowing what it was like to survive a near death experience. Claire may have been strong, but Regina knew right now she needed comfort. "I thought….if Emma hadn't gotten there when she did. I froze, Mom. I couldn't even defend myself."

"Oh honey, you're still getting used to using magic, it'll take time before you can fight off dragons or put up a protection spell." Regina explains. Claire scootches over and lies her head on her mother's shoulder. "I promise you, Claire, I am going to do EVERYTHING in my power for the rest of my life to protect you and your brothers. I'm sorry I didn't get there as fast as Emma did."

"You got her to leave. That's enough." Claire replies snuggling closer to her mother. "Would it make me a baby if I asked you to stay with me tonight?" Regina smiles at her daughter's request.

"Of course not." She smiles hugging her daughter tightly. Claire offers a small smile.

"Thank you." She says. Regina grins.

"Just doing my job." She replies placing a kiss on Claire's head. "I'm gonna go change, I'll be right back."

Two weeks later Claire was slowly getting back to her normal self. She was trying to feel safe in the town again. She still refused to go anywhere alone, which was understandable. Her parents made sure to keep a special watch on her, knowing at night she still had nightmares. Regina still ended up in Claire's room some nights to sooth the terrors and to make sure Claire went back to sleep. But Claire would now go see Emma and the Charmings again without her parents. For the first few days she always wanted one of her parents with her, but now she was feeling better. She knew she would be safe with her other family members, as long as she wasn't alone.

"Do you think we should talk to Archie?" Regina asks Robin one night after the children were all asleep.

"I think we have to let her deal with this her own way. She's getting there love." Robin answers as he drapes an arm around his wife.

"I hate that she's still so afraid." Regina admits sadly. Robin hugs her in a comforting manner.

"Well, my love, she did survive a dragon attack, and she's still adjusting to the craziness of Storybrooke." Robin reminds her gently Regina nods. "Maybe we need a trip out of Storybrooke." Regina looks at her husband in surprise.

"What like a vacation?" She asks him. Robin nods.

"The five of us, or we could even invite the Charmings." Robin suggests. Regina thinks for a moment before realizing how brilliant of an idea this was.

"Where will we go?" She asks her thief. He grins when he sees that she's agreed.

"I've heard of a place, it's supposed to be the ultimate family vacation spot." Robin begins. His wife gives him a curious smile before he finishes "Disney World."

"That sounds lovely." Regina smiles, giving her husband a soft kiss. Getting away from Storybrooke would be hard, but definitely worth it. Having some much needed family time was all Regina could want. And if it would help make her daughter feel safe again she was in. She decided to call Snow and see if they were in. If it was going to be a family vacation, she wanted her whole family with her.

Regina and Snow were meeting at Granny's for brunch the next day. Robin had taken Claire and Henry out to the forest for some target practice and Roland was spending some time with his favorite Aunt Emma. Robin and Regina wanted to get all the details right before telling the kids about their surprise. When Regina enters the diner, Snow is already there waiting for her with coffee.

"Good morning." The always perky princess smiles. Regina grins and takes her seat. "So, what's this proposition?"

"Robin and I were talking, and we were thinking." Regina begins. "Wouldn't it be nice to just get out of this town for a little while?"

"You're leaving?!" Snow gasps, misreading what her stepmother was saying. "B-but what about Henry? And us? We're finally close again and I-"

"Snow." Regina chuckles. "I mean like a vacation. And, you'd come with us!" Snow sighs in relief before chuckling a bit.

"That does sound nice. Why didn't you start with that!?" The princess exclaims. Regina laughs a little more.

"I didn't realize you'd be so upset, Dear." Regina smiles, sipping her coffee. "So…..is that a yes?"

"Of course!" Snow replies excitedly. "It's a perfect idea!"

 **A/N So this going to be 15 chapters, the next one will be the vacation :) I hope you're all enjoying the story and I'm open to any suggestions! I posted a new story as well if anyone is interested, I'm a little unsure about it! I'll update ASAP! -Kaila**


	13. Chapter 13

Two vans, nine people and a whole lot of rearranging later, the family was finally on their way. Emma, Snow, Neal and Charming were in one van and Regina, Robin, Claire, Roland and Henry were in the other. Henry had opted out of riding in the van with Neal who still hated the car seat and was known for screeching during car rides. Plus he'd be much less bored with his brother and sister.

"Okay kids, last call." Robin says opening the driver door. "Does anyone need anything from the house or need to use the restroom?" The three children shake their heads. "Okay, let's go." Regina smiles as her husband slides into his seat and starts the van.

When they finally made it to Florida, after two days of driving, everyone is ready to get out of the car. Henry grumbles something about how Emma and Regina should have just teleported them there. Charming reminds his grandson that the drive was part of the fun and besides, they'd have no way to teleport home. None of them seemed too keen on the idea of flying either. They get to the hotel and check in. Regina, Roland, Robin and Claire were in one suit, Emma and Henry in another and Charming, Snow and they baby in the third. "Everyone get a goodnight's sleep." Snow says after dinner when they head to their separate rooms."It's going to be a busy week." Everyone says goodnight and the families head off to bed.

They get up bright and early the next day, not wanting to waste a single moment of vacation time. Claire, Roland and Henry were too excited to sleep in anyway. None of them had ever been to Disneyworld but they'd all heard the rumors. The happiest place on earth!

"Can we go on the Ferris Wheel!?" Roland begs. "Uh...I'll pass." Claire answers, she had a fear of Ferris Wheels, always had. There was no way she was willingly getting on one.

"You can stay with Neal and I." Snow smiles placing an arm around the teen.

"I'll stay too." Regina decides after seeing how high the ride was. Another thing she had in common with her daughter. Roland, Henry, Charming and Robin get in line excitedly.

"Look!" Regina exclaims bewildered. "It's the Disney version of me." Walking by was the Evil-Queen-Wanna-Be.

"And there's me!" Snow exclaims pointing to the fake princess passing them. Snow and Regina look at one another and laugh. Neither would have guessed in a million years that they'd be here, laughing together. It was the relationship that they'd both wanted deep down for so long.

"Too bad Disney doesn't have a princess Claire." Regina smirks at her daughter.

"That's because Claire is one of a kind." Snow says smiling at the teen affectionately.

After hours of riding the spinning tea cups, the haunted mansion, it's small world and numerous others, the family decides to make their way to the castle for fireworks. Robin carries Roland on his back, knowing the little guy was worn out after such an exciting day. Regina looks at her youngest child and grins.

"You're going to sleep like a rock tonight." She comments. He smiles at her and reaches for her. She laughs and take him from Robin. He was getting big, but he was her baby and she was going to keep it that way for as long she could. He snuggled his face in her neck. Regina wonders if he'll even make it through the fireworks at this point. Once the find a spot, the family sits to enjoy the show.

"I love fireworks." Claire says to no one in particular.

"Me too." Henry grins. "When I was little, ya know before the whole curse thing, I used to think they were magic." Regina and Emma share a smile. Now they could look back on the past and be thankful, if it wasn't for the curse they wouldn't have all this.

"Real magic is much cooler." Regina insists. Her children look at each other and then shake their heads in disagreement. Regina sighs in defeat. Only now, she didn't mind being defeated.

The vacation went much too fast in everyone's opinion. But it was always good to be home. And Robin and Regina had been right, it had been good for Claire. As much fun as they'd had, they all knew it was time to get back to their good new was, the town stayed in one piece with their absence and no new monster had arrived. The town was just as peaceful and curse free as they'd left it.

"Henry, you coming home with us?" Emma asks as the Charmings get ready to leave Regina's.

"Uh, sure." He replies. He had been trying to split his time between his two houses evenly but he had to admit; he been homesick and home was always going to be the mansion he'd grown up in.

"Do you want to come tomorrow?" Emma replies seeing his hesitation. "I should probably go see Killian anyway, he was so bummed that he couldn't go with us." Henry grins at her understanding and agrees that he'll see her the next day.

"Can we go play video games!?" Roland asks his brother hopefully. Henry nods and the boys race in the house as their mother lovingly reminds them not to run inside. She shakes her head, knowing they were ignoring her warnings.

"Claire, wanna go shoot some arrows?" Robin asks looking at his daughter with pride.

"Can we mom?" Claire pleads looking at Regina. The former queen sighs.

"Be home by 6 for dinner." She tells them. They cheer happily and hug her before rushing to the forest. Regina smiles as she makes her way into her house. It sure was good to be home.

The children are in bed by 10:00 that night. Robin helps Regina tidy up the kitchen before they retire in the den with some wine. The whole family was exhausted but Regina knew she wouldn't be falling asleep right away. Some wine would help, though.

"Shall we toast to our happy ending….or is that too cliche?" Robin teases.

"I don't want to jinx it." Regina says with a light hearted laugh. Robin leans in and captures her lips in his.

"I love you." He says for no particular reason other than he never wants her to doubt it. Not that she does anymore, she's grown past the insecurities of their past. Nothing could come between them and their happiness now.

"I love you too." She breathes softly. It was moments like this that still made her heart skip a few beats. "Thank you."

"What for my love?" He asks her curiously. "Everything." She smiles, making HIS heart skip a beat."Without you...I never would have any of this." He chuckles a little.

"Regina, I think it's I who should be thanking YOU." Robin replies. "You put up with so much from me. If you hadn't given me another chance, given us another chance….well I don't want to think about it."

"Then don't, because you'll never be without me." It's a promise she never intends on breaking.

 **A/N SO SORRY! I was super busy and I'm not sure I like this chapter, mostly cause it's just fluff, but I promise the next 2 are going to be good! I know how it's going to end...I'm actually really excited for it! -Kaila**


	14. Chapter 14

Claire awoke knowing right away something felt wrong. She tried to calm herself but the feeling stuck. She considers waking her parents but she didn't want them to worry. It was just a feeling, after all. Maybe it was bad dream she just couldn't remember. She lies back down and waits until she hears footsteps. She slides out of bed and goes to find her parents in the kitchen. She feels better upon seeing them. The feeling must have been a fluke or something. She was happy, she was healthy and so was her family.

"Good morning." Robin smiles upon seeing his daughter. "It's awfully early, sweetie."

"Couldn't sleep." Claire yawns sitting down at the table next to him as he plants a kiss on her cheek.

"Are you hungry?" Regina asks her daughter, Claire shakes her head. Her gut was still turning from the unknown worry despite the convincing she'd had with her inner self.. "Are you feeling okay?" Before Claire can answer Regina is checking the young girl's forehead. "You don't have a fever."

"I'm fine, mom. Really." Claire says offering a smile. Regina looks unconvinced so the teen continues. "I think it was just a bad dream."

"See, love, she's alright. She'll probably get breakfast when she's more awake." Robin says. Regina is still uncertain but decides to drop the subject. "So...your mother and I were thinking."

"About what?" Claire asks. "Everything's okay right?"

"Of course sweet pea, but, well since your father is teaching you archery, we thought I could teach you how to ride. I know we have our magic lessons, but those are different and they're with Emma." Regina answers. Claire smiles, despite her slight fear, and nods.

"Sure." The teen agrees, knowing it'd make her mother happy and she was right, Regina smiles warmly. She knew Claire was a little afraid, and she definitely wouldn't push her, but she hoped she could smother her fears and make her love riding.

Later that afternoon Claire follows her mother into the stables. She looks around at all the horses, wondering why she had agreed to this. Maybe this was why she felt so weird when she woke up. Maybe her mind had been preparing her for an untimely death. But her mother seemed to be in her element. Claire watches how naturally she saddles up the horse and leads it to the fields. Claire follows behind slowly until her mother calls her over. Claire stands closely to her mother, hoping the horse would keep its distance.

"Claire, this is Cheyenne. She's one of our retired police horses. She's very gentle, I promise." Regina says while patting the horse's neck.

"She's….really big." Claire replies shakily. Regina nods, not denying that the horse was rather large.

"It'll just make her more steady." Regina replies. Then she looks at her daughter seriously. "But Claire, if you don't to do this we really don't have to." Claire really didn't want to disappoint her mother, and she knew deep down nothing would happen to her with Regina here.

"It's okay...I can do this." Claire answers with determination. "Just...uhm stay really close okay?" Regina laughs a little and hugs her daughter.

"Always. And if you change your mind and want to leave just say the word." Regina insists. Claire nods. Here goes nothing.

As fate would have it, Claire was a natural rider, just like her mother. Regina wasn't at all surprised, she knew Claire would be good at anything she set her mind to. Claire was the one who had been shocked. She had thought she'd fall off or something, but once she relaxed, she let instincts take over. The pair head Granny's for dinner once they're finished. Robin and Roland were meeting them there. Since Robin was still learning how to use basic modern kitchen equipment and Regina was going to be at the stables, the decided it'd be best just to eat out for the night. Besides it was nice to go out as a family, Regina couldn't help but want to show off her happy ending. They'd invited Henry too, but he was going sailing with Killian and Emma. He promised he'd be home the next night though, hinting that his mother should make Lasagna.

"So?" Robin questions as his daughter sits beside her mother in the booth.

"Well I'm alive." Claire jokes with a smile. Regina and Robin laugh. "It was actually really fun. Mom was right."

"Mama is always right!" Roland proclaims. The rest of the family laugh.

"That's my boy, Ro. And don't forget it when you grow into a teenager either." Regina smiles lightly at her son.

"I won't." The boy promises, looking very determined and ridiculously adorable. "Clairey, how come you look like mama and I don't?" Robin and Regina share a look. Roland had little memories of his birth mother and they had wiped all memories of fake Marian from him, but they thought he knew Regina wasn't biologically his mother. Claire sends her parents a panicked look. None of them knowing how to reply.

"Well…" Claire begins to think quickly. "Because you get to look like Daddy."

"Oh." Roland says before smiling at his sister. "That makes sense." Regina and Robin sigh, sending Claire a grateful smile. They'd have to explain it better to Roland when he was older but for now he knew what he needed to know. He had a sister, a mother, a father and a brother who all loved him very much.

"So….do you guys want dessert?" Ruby asks appearing at the table.

"Four hot fudge sundaes please." Robin answers, knowing exactly what his family would want. They all grin at him happily.

"Coming right up." Ruby says with a smile before heading back to the kitchen.

That night when Claire goes to sleep the dreadful feeling comes back. What was happening? She couldn't imagine what was wrong. Everything was going to perfectly. Nothing could bring her down….and yet, there it was. Almost like a warning signal. She debated on going to get her mother but she didn't want to worry her. Besides….it was nothing. Right?

 **A/N So there's one maybe two chapters left...but sadly I might not be able to update for a while :( My laptop has to be replaced and I am super busy the next two weeks but I promise if I find time I WILL post the next one! -Kaila**


	15. Chapter 15

Her head was pounding and all Claire could think about was that something was different. The air felt heavier and smelt like hairspray rather than the familiar scent of apples. Her eyes pop open. No.

"Mom!" Claire screams almost out of instinct. Then she realizes her voice sounds different, as a matter of fact….she FEELS different. This was Amelia's house but her room looked like it did when she was a preteen.

"Claire, honey are you okay?" Amelia calls. Claire wants to scream that she isn't okay, but she knows that she has to play it cool.

"S-Spider." Claire lies as Amelia pops her head in the doorway. "It's uhm...gone."

"Okay, well I have to get to the station, be good okay?" Claire nods, wanting Amelia to leave. Claire waits for Amelia to disappear out of the room. When she hears the car start and peel out the driveway she all but jumps out of bed. She looks in the mirror and sees herself but much younger. What was the date? She grabs her cell phone, an old flip phone, the first phone she'd owned. According to the date on the screen, Claire was only eleven, almost twelve. She gasps, this was when the curse hit if her memory served her correctly. Henry had said he was ten when it broke. She starts searching the room, looking for any proof that she hadn't dreamt it all.

"Breathe Claire." She reminds herself outloud. "What would mom do?" Then she feels sick because mom was all alone. This was before her and dad had met again, before Henry had learned how good she could be. She suddenly sees a book on the shelf that didn't look familiar. She gasps, it was Cora's. She opens it and to her dismay, realizes she can't read whatever language it was in. But this had definitely came from Regina's vault. A paper falls out.

 _TIME REVERSAL_

Claire nearly screams. So Amelia had done this. But how? Claire had been told it was nearly impossible to travel time. Then again nothing was ever certain when it came to magic and Claire was sure that if anyone knew how it was her grandmother.

"Cora's alive." Claire realizes out loud. Her head is spinning. Amelia had turned time back to a time before Claire even knew she had been adopted. But Amelia had been so against magic….and now….she had it? "Amelia is….a witch."

"That's no way to talk of your mother dear." Claire whips around to see an elder woman standing there. "Though she isn't really your mother is she?"

"Wh-who are you?" Claire demands.

"I am Regina's mother." The women smiles. Fear hits Claire like a tsunami. If this woman was who she said then she was the reason why Claire never knew Robin and Regina. Claire feels like she's going to hurl. "But don't worry I'm here to help you."

"Why?" Claire asks skeptically.

"Because I want my daughter to be happy. Dying made me realize many things and one of them was...I was wrong to take you from her." Cora explains. Claire knew better than to fully trust this woman, but she also knew that she was her only way home.

"You...you have your memories?" Claire asks. Cora nods. "How did Amelia use magic?"

"Anyone can learn magic." Cora answers simply. "Now….do you want to find your mother or not?"

"What's the catch?" Claire asks knowingly. "What do you get out of it?"

"Hopefully a new start with my daughter." Cora replies. Claire nods, hoping with all she has that this isn't a trap. "Now, let's go."

"What about Amelia?" Claire wonders.

"We'll take care of her later." Cora vows. "But we must move quickly." Claire makes her decision to trust her grandmother. All she cared about was getting to Storybrooke and making sure that Regina was alright.

They take a cab to the town line, which cost Claire a lot of money but she didn't care because it came from Amelia. When they see the sign they tell the driver to stop and decide to make their way on foot. Cora had told Claire that she couldn't be seen in this town yet so Claire would have to find Regina alone. Which was easy, considering she knew this town like the back of her hand. Regina would either be at her mansion or her vault. Claire checks the vault first but it's empty. She hears angry voices as she heads into town. A mob? Oh no, they were going after her mother. Claire sprints, taking the backway and into the backyard. She opens the backdoor, searching for her mother.

"You wanted to see your evil queen?" Comes the once soothing voice. Claire's heart nearly stops. "Well….Here. She. Is." Claire expects an explosion.

"She's powerless!" Someone yells. Claire's instincts kick and she slides across the floor before yanking open the white door. Everyone stops and stares at her. Whispers start spreading across the crowd before Emma pushes her way through. She starts to say something about not killing the queen before she too notices Claire.

"Whose this?" Emma asks. Regina is still studying the girl carefully. _Please, mom, please know who I am._ Claire prays silently. Regina steps closer to her.

"Yes….who are you?" She asks coldly. Claire wants to cry but she doesn't, she can't. Not now.

"I….need to talk to you." Claire manages, fighting the urge to hug her mother tightly.

"Get in line." Dr. Whale snaps.

"No." Regina sneers. "Get off my property. I have a child to speak with." Regina places her hand on Claire's shoulder and leads her inside. Claire knows it's not that Regina actually wishes to speak to her, but just wants to get away from the vicious mob. Claire flinches as the door slams. Regina turns and looks her over again. "Tell me dear, are YOU going to try to kill me?" Claire shakes her head quickly.

"No, I want to help you."

"Help me?" Regina questions in amusement. "Who says I need help?"

"The angry citizens that don't know who you really are." Claire replies.

"Oh? And who am I?"

"My mother."

 **A/N *Hides* So this is the end...should there be a sequel? Jk there will be :) -Kaila ps review one last time!**


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